


Prince

by victeljen



Category: The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, M/M, On Hiatus, prince! newt, prince! thomas
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 08:00:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25550107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/victeljen/pseuds/victeljen
Summary: In which Thomas falls in love with the wrong sibling.(ON HIATUS)
Relationships: Newt/Thomas (Maze Runner)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 21





	1. Prologue.

"Father."

"Oh! There you are. I called you down so your mother and I can speak to you about something."

Thomas shifted nervously on his feet, yet he kept his chin up and eyes forward, arms behind his back and one hand gripping his wrist. His father sat graciously in his throne, with his mother standing beside him, one hand at her side and the other placed at the top of her husband's forearm. "What about?"

"In three days time the King and Queen from the Kingdom of Dale will visit, along with their children. You are to meet their daughter, furthermore, marry her." Thomas's smart composure fell, and he opened his mouth to retort but the King held his hand up, putting him to silence.

"I will not hear it. We have tried multiple times and you have never shown the slightest interest in any of the princesses that have come to our kingdom for you. I will not have the heir to the throne have a crown placed on his head without a woman by his side."

"What? Why? I can do it my-"

"No you can't!" His father bellowed, interrupting him mid-sentence. "You can barely fight one of the knights with a sword, forget about ruling a kingdom yourself! You might as well be the lady of the relationship the way you act." He spat. He took a few breaths. "Think about it. If you marry her, the Kingdom of Dale will finally be united with ours."

Thomas's fists clenched in an attempt to stop his cheeks from flaring up and his eyes watering. Thomas knew his father was right, but despite that, dread filled his stomach every time he thought about marrying a woman, especially one from a rival kingdom.

He desperately looked over at his mother but she didn't notice as her eyes were staring into the floor in front of Thomas's feet.

"Leave us, now." The king ordered.

"Yes, sire," Thomas bowed his head and quickly turned on his heel, turning around and striding out of the room.

As he walked down the hallway, he could faintly hear his father's yelling and his mother protesting. The servants' he passed gave him odd looks as the prince scampered through the halls, trying to hold in his tears until he reached his room.

Teresa, one of the maids, was flattening the creases of his bed sheets when he returned. Her face softened when the first tear crawled down Thomas's cheek.

"What happened?" she said kindly, opening her arms up and wrapped them around Thomas's shoulders when he stepped forward.

It took him a few moments to collect himself enough to reply. "They want me to marry a girl, and I don't have a choice." He croaked miserably.


	2. Chapter one.

Thomas's fork pushed the food around his plate. He jumped when a soft hand rested on top of his.

"Eat, darling." Thomas looked at his mother, who had her brown hair pinned back to the side. She smiled gently at him.

"I can't. I'm dreading today." Thomas mumbled, resting his chin on his palm. She squeezed his hand, and her smile turned a little sad.

"I know you don't want to do this. Just...be polite, okay? You never know, you might like her," she said, despite both of them knowing it was unlikely, but both for different reasons.

Thomas nodded glumly and shoved a piece of toast into his mouth as the queen stood up from her seat.

"They will be arriving soon. So I suggest you hurry." She announced, before turning and leaving Thomas alone in the dining room, aside from the guards by the door and the servant refilling his water.

"Thanks," Thomas said through a mouthful of bread, swallowing it down with a gulp of the cold water. Thomas didn't notice the servant stifle her giggle at his manners.

He crammed a few more bits of toast in before he left the room, sneakily wiping the crumbs off on his shirt, which would've been frowned at if he wasn't in an empty hallway.

His room was empty when he walked in. "Teresa?" He called as he looked around the empty room. There were a few footsteps rushing up to him before Teresa burst into the room dramatically, almost dropping the basket of Thomas's clean folded clothes.

"Sorry! I was.." she trailed off, nodding at her arms and he smiled at her.

"It's fine. Can you help me pick something to wear? I still need to give good first impressions even if I don't want to marry her."

Teresa smiled brightly. "Of course! I take it you have bathed?" She asked as she pulled a few pieces from Thomas's drawers.

"Yes, just this morning." Thomas said as he stepped behind the folding screen and pulled off the shirt he was wearing, draping it over the top.

"Good. You can't be smelling like a rats ass when you're about to meet the future wife," she muttered, voice dripping with sarcasm. When Thomas was silent for a few seconds she continued. "Sorry. I know you don't want to."

She handed him the articles of clothing she picked and fixed her hair in Thomas's mirror as she waited for him to dress, despite her being a servant and most didn't bat an eye at her, she still wanted to look half-decent.

"How do I look?" Thomas said from behind her. She quickly tucked a stray strand of hair away and turned to Thomas, who was standing with his arms spread apart as to say _'tada!'_.

She gave him a quick look up and down and gave him a thumbs up, smiling. "You look great," she said, and he did. Even in such casual clothes as trousers, a dark green shirt and jacket with his family's crest on the breast of it. Teresa grimaced as she eyed her own outfit and grimaced. "You look better than me anyways," she grumbled under her breath.

Thomas snickered and hooked his arm under hers. "You look lovely," Thomas said as they left his room together, Thomas's heart thumping and an anxious pit in his stomach.

"Yeah right." Teresa mumbled.

-ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ-

Thomas's heart just about dropped 50 feet when he heard the clicking of horse hooves nearing. The first few horses ridden by knights came through the gates, leading two carriages and a few more horses. He scratched his arm uncomfortably as the clicking got louder, now accompanied with two quiet voices squabbling.

"You idiot! Stop that!" Thomas heard from within one of the carriages.

"I would if you would stop bloody hitting me!" Also from the same carriage.

The horses came to a halt, and the closest carriage door opened. The King and Queen of Shay stepped out, the King holding his hand out to the lady politely as she held her dress up awkwardly, patting it down once she was out.

Thomas's parents both smiled, quickly walking down the steps of the castle to meet their guests. Thomas stayed where he stood, giving a nervous glance back at Teresa who shrugged.

The arguing continued from the other carriage until it silenced abruptly. There was one final voice, which was quieter but sounded suspiciously like, "I think the carriage has stopped."

Suddenly the door opened, and a boy was pushed out. He fell onto one of his knees before he scrambled to stand up straight, glaring inside the carriage as he wiped a thin layer of dirt from his trouser knee.

Thomas hid his smile as he looked at the boy. He had wispy blond hair which fell into his face, and he was wearing clothes similar to his own. Thomas recognised him quickly as the Prince, Newton.

"Hurry up, Brenda." Newt said, and groaned when a petty hand stuck out of the door. He begrudgingly took it and helped Brenda out, and Thomas had to admit, Brenda was pretty.

She had brown hair just touching her shoulders and one side was pinned out of her face, while the other hung freely, bouncing with the curls in it. She was wearing a deep red dress that was cut at the shoulders, showing off her sharp collarbones.

Thomas would have found it pretty easy to fall in love with her if he felt the same way normal boys felt about girls. (which, instead of girls, it was boys he imagined falling in love with.)

"Thomas, dear! Come down here!" His mother called happily, waving him down.

Taking a last glance at Teresa, whose cheeks looked redder than usual, he started walking down the stairs, trying to go as slow as possible.

Thomas bowed respectfully when he finally stepped down from the last step, which was returned by Newt and Brenda curtsied. "Hello," Thomas said awkwardly. Thomas flushed in embarrassment when the siblings glanced at each other, the boy's lip curling up into a small smirk.

"Hello, Thomas. I assume you already know us." Before he could reply, she butted in and continued. " _If_ you don't, well, no offence but that is slightly concerning--but, I'm Brenda, and this," she gestured to Newt, "is unfortunately my brother, Newt."

"Good afternoon," Newt said, winking slyly at Thomas, who felt his cheeks heat up. Newt was so much more handsome than some of the maids had said he was.

Thomas found that he couldn't give a reply, and he was sure if he opened his mouth now it would just be a squeak. Luckily, his father walked over and clapped him on the back.

Thomas noticed that the two mother's quickly got along, probably due to the fact that they hadn't had much company aside from their husbands and the staff back at the castles, and they began to gush over each other's dresses and hair.

"Now, Thomas, why don't you go show Brenda to her chamber and you can get that servant you talk to to show Newton to his?" Thomas's father suggested, squeezing his shoulder before going back to the other king.

"Um, yes, of course," Thomas said, smiling politely to Brenda and Newt, before waving Teresa over like his mother did to him just moments ago.

Teresa practically skipped down the steps, blushing when Brenda greeted herself to her. The four began to walk back to the castle entrance, when Brenda leaned over and whispered to Thomas, "Hey, why don't you let that maid of yours take me to my chambers and you can show Newt to his?"

Thomas frowned a little, but butterflies fluttered in his stomach at the thought of Thomas and the prince walking alone together and he nodded.


	3. Chapter two.

"So, Tommy. Do you do any fighting? Are you any good with swords? If you are, can we go out later and train?" Newt said eagerly as he flopped back onto his new bed. Thomas stood awkwardly in the doorway.

"Uh, not really."

Newt sat up, resting on his elbows and huffed. "Shame. I suppose I just lost my chance of seeing you topless." Newt sighed, and went to picking a loose string on his trousers as if those words didn't just come out of his mouth.

"What? I- You- What?" Thomas spluttered, his cheeks heating up immensely. Newt smirked.

"Stop standing there like an idiot. Come sit down." Newt said, patting the bed beside him. Thomas gaped, looking between Newt's face and hand for a moment, before walking in and sitting next to Newt.

"Do you want to marry her?" Newt said suddenly after a second of silence, which felt painfully slow to Thomas.

"Um, I- Yeah, of course I do."

"You're lying." Newt said easily.

"So what if I am?" Thomas shifted awkwardly. He felt awfully hot. They had just met and he was already taking about marrying his sister.

"Why? I have seen men that would _kill_ to even speak to her. You don't. You didn't even spare a second glance at her."

Thomas sighed, and stared at his hands on his lap. "I don't know. I just... I'm not normal."

Newt frowned. "What makes you think that?"

"Well... You know how when most boys see girls, as you said, and they like them, I just... I don't feel like that. Well, actually, I _do_ , but it's with boys. I told Teresa and she said not to worry about it, but she looked concerned and she made sure I didn't tell father."

Thomas suddenly felt very grey, like a rain cloud had just covered his head and began to spit water droplets down at him angrily. His eyes watered up, and for a moment he forgot he was even with Newt.

"Hey," Newt snapped him out of his thoughts with a gentle voice. Newt had grabbed one of Thomas's hands and was holding it between both of his. "Don't worry about that, okay? I'm sure you'll figure it out. I'll even help you." Newt reassured him. Thomas felt slightly better. He blinked away his tears.

"Thanks, Newt." Thomas's lips curled into a small smile. And then he glanced down at their hands, and Newt pulled away suddenly, clutching his hand to his chest.

"Sorry," Newt laughed awkwardly, pushing his hair back with his hands.

"It's fine. I should go... um, yeah. Bye." Thomas stood up quickly and left the room, but stopped at the door to say, "Thanks, Newt. Really." With sincerity.

Thomas decided to walk around the castle for a while, and maybe he would meet Teresa while he did so. Even with Newt's kind words, he still felt a little glum.

He had stopped and talked to a few of the servants as he walked, and decided to go into one of the kitchens when he caught a whiff of food.

"Frypan!" Thomas grinned when he saw the boy, around his age, stirring a pot of something. Frypan jumped and dropped his spoon to bow at Thomas. Thomas frowned slightly. "You don't need to do that, I've already told you."

Frypan just smiled and picked his spoon up again. "I know, Sire. But it is respectful. You deserve that much. I heard the news. Another princess visiting then?" He said.

The wooden stool screeched ungodly as Thomas pulled it from the corner of the room to sit on. "Yep. Princess Brenda." Thomas sighed. Frypan looked at him, alarmed.

"Sire, you don't mean Princess Brenda from the Kingdom of Shay?"

"Way to rub it in, Fry."

"Sorry, Your Highness. Could you pass me that brown bag behind you?" Frypan said, holding out his hand. Thomas stretched over to the counter behind him and passed the boy the small fabric bag.

"Well, to answer your question. It is. Father says I don't have a choice. I must marry her." Frypan began to sprinkle some of the powder that was in the bag into his pot.

"I can't imagine how you feel, Sire."

"No." Thomas huffed. "Sometimes I wish I were like you, Fry. You could marry whoever you wanted, and you probably don't have a father who pressures you every other day."

The realisation of what he said was wrong and ignorant only hit him when the clinking of the spoon against the pot stopped and he looked up to see Frypan looking at him, his usual gentle eyes hard.

"No, you don't. Do you know how many people would give everything to marry you? How many do you think would do that for me? _None_. You don't have to work night and day just to have enough money to keep a house above your head. You just get it."

Thomas's stomach filled with guilt just as Frypan's eyes filled with fear.

"Sire, I- I'm so sorry. I did not mean that. I'm sorry, Your majesty. Please forgive me." Frypan begged.

"No, Fry, it's quite alright. It was my fault. I don't know what it is like for you. I should be the one asking for forgiveness." Thomas said, getting up from the stool.

Frypan's shoulders slumped in relief. "T-thank you, Sire. You are too kind to the likes of me."

He clapped Frypan's shoulder gently. "No, I am not kind enough. I will leave you to your work now. I'll see you later. Bye, Fry." Thomas said, leaving the warm room into the much colder hallway. Thomas shivered a little.

He pulled the door closed behind him and looked at the guard standing next to him. "Hey," the guard looked down at him. "Can you make sure he gets paid double for the rest of this week? His name is Frypan, hard to mistake him. _And_ , that is an order from the Prince." Thomas said, sounding slightly unsure of himself as he did not usually give orders out like sweets.

"Yes, Your Highness." The knight said, and began to walk down the hallway with his normal grip on the handle of his sword.

Thomas smiled to himself as he returned to his room.


	4. Chapter three.

To say that Thomas was tense at dinner was an absolute understatement. His fists were clenched white and his knee was bouncing, either because his mind was racing, or because Prince Newton was very much sitting in the seat beside him, and he was leaning to the left of his chair, oddly close to Thomas.

"I want to give a proper welcome to the Elder family." The King of Dale, Thomas's father announced, holding up his goblet above his head. "We thank you for taking your time to visit our kingdom despite being rivals. I hope that Princess Brenda," he nodded at her and she smiled, "Gets on well with Prince Thomas, and soon enough we will finally be united as one if they are to be wedded in the near future. Thank you," he finished, emphasising with his hand before sitting back down in his seat.

There was a quiet chorus of 'thank you's from the Elders. A few of the servants in the room began to sweep around the tables, offering food off of plates they carried around. Thomas's plate had been mostly empty until his mother insisted he got more, and she loaded his plate with food.

A sliver of chicken sat still on his fork for a few minutes as Thomas stared into the table. His mind had drifted to somewhere else and the chatter and laughter had been muted to his ears. He jumped when a shoe toe nudged his ankle.

His head snapped up and his eyes darted to Newt, who was staring at him with his eyebrows furrowed.

"Tommy? Why aren't you eating?" Newt said quietly, leaning closer to him so only Thomas could hear him. Thomas shrugged, looking back at his plate that hadn't been touched.

"Can't. My mind is racing, and I didn't get much sleep last night." Thomas admitted, possibly even quieter than Newt had spoken. His face flushed when Newt rested his foot on top of Thomas's.

"Why don't you worry about everything else tomorrow, hm? Let go of all of that and enjoy your night. And _eat_." Newt said, smiling at him softly. Thomas practically melted in Newt's big brown eyes. _Wait, what? Big brown eyes?_ Thomas's mind drifted once more, his brain arguing with his heart, which had made it clear that he was getting just a little bit attached to the Prince.

"Thomas." Newt interrupted. "You're doing it again." He nudged Thomas's fork closer to his mouth.

"Sorry."

Thomas didn't realise how hungry he was until he took a bite from his fork. But just as he went to take another bite, Newt spoke.

"Oh, and try to get a good rest tonight. You'll need it for when we go on our picnic tomorrow morning," Newt said smugly as he looked away from Thomas with a small smirk plastered on his face.

There was a clatter as Thomas dropped his fork onto his plate. His cheeks heated with embarrassment and he ducked his head when the king gave him a warning glare. "What picnic?" Thomas whispered once he had recovered.

"You don't know? You and I are going for a picnic tomorrow in the forest." Newt said.

Thomas's cheeks seemed to get redder. "But what about my father? What- what about Brenda?" Thomas looked at Newt as if he had just committed a crime, which he had, partly. Boys weren't meant to go on picnic's together, and Thomas _especially_ wasn't supposed to get this worked up about it. He probably meant it as friends.

"Brenda and your dad don't need to know everything. That's why we are going at first light. We can watch the sunrise and get back by the time the castle is beginning to wake up." Newt shrugged.

Thomas crammed another piece of chicken into his mouth as he thought, his face scrunched up in confusion. If Newt wanted to do it as friends, why keep it a secret? Maybe Newt was going to kill him.

"But," Thomas swallowed, pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind, "How are we going to get the food there?"

"Don't you worry about that, Tommy. I'll sort all of that out."

Newt didn't speak to Thomas for the rest of the meal, but Thomas felt the glances that came from him every so often.

-ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ-

Thomas cringed behind the screen as Teresa squealed.

"Oh my god, Tom! He's totally in love with you!" She cried. Thomas laughed, shaking his head as he pulled the tunic over his head.

"He's just being nice, Teresa." Thomas said, though not wanting to believe it himself.

" _Just being nice!"_ She exclaimed. Thomas stepped out from the screen and she grabbed his shoulders. "No offence my lord, but you are being incredibly oblivious right now." Thomas shrugged her off and went to wash his face with the bowl of water.

"I am not!" Thomas hissed, but without real venom in his voice.

She smiled smugly at him. "So you don't mind if I go tell Prince Newton that you are unfortunately busy tomorrow and cannot go to the picnic?"

Thomas glared at her. "Be quiet." He said, his cheeks flaring up. He quickly splashed his face to hide it.

"I won't tell anyone, Sire." She crossed her arm over her chest. "Your secret is safe with me."

Thomas slapped her other arm playfully, face still dripping with water. He began to wipe his face with a cloth. "Can you quickly pick out clothes for tomorrow? We are going at first light and I don't want to keep him waiting."

Teresa was smirking at him when he removed the cloth from his face and opened his eyes. "Why? Do you want to make sure you look perfect for this picnic, which is _totally_ not a date?" She giggled.

Thomas stared at her for a few seconds, before spluttering out: "I- I am the Prince of Dale and I do not have to answer questions to the likes of you." Teresa rolled her eyes at him.

"Uh-huh. Whatever you say, Sire," she winked as she pulled his bed covers back so he could crawl under.

"Good night, Teresa." Thomas said, closing his eyes.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Sire. Good night," Teresa quietly shut his door.

-ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ-

Thomas whined throatily as he was dragged out of his bed by his ankles. "Teresa, leave me alone," Thomas grumbled.

"Nope! Get up, sleepy head!" A voice which was very much not Teresa's said. Thomas fell onto the cold floor in a heap of clothes and blankets.

"What?" Thomas said in confusion, squinting in his sleepy haze. They suddenly widened as he recognised the voice. He glanced down at his sleepwear and then back up, to where Newt was standing, hands on his hips and a grin on his face. He was clad in the usual armour, thin chainmail. 

Thomas tried to stand up, and stumbled over the blankets, catching himself.

"Hurry up and get ready. Even the bloody horses were up before you." Newt said, stepping over the mess and heading for the door. "I'll be in the stables, waiting." He said, before walking out.

Thomas immediately slapped himself. "Oh my god. I can't believe this," he muttered, wiping the small trail of saliva off of his cheek. He shook his head, jumping around on his toes to wake himself up more.

Realising that Newt was probably already waiting for him, he bolted to pull on his clothes, grumbling all the while as he pulled on the metal protection over his tunic. He wasn't aloud to be seen outside the castle without a layer of armour on, especially as he was clumsy with a sword in his hand.

He shivered a little when he walked through the chill air to the stables, where Newt was stroking one of the horses head.

"Hi," Thomas said breathlessly. Going through the castle was a long jog, especially as he rushed so Newt wasn't bored out of his mind.

Newt looked at him, a small smile on his face. "Hey." Thomas walked over to one of the two horses that had a saddle over its back. "You ready?" Newt said, leading the other horse out of the doors. The one Newt led had a sword slipped into a leather grip on the side of the saddle. Thomas's didn't.

"Yeah." Thomas looked around to see if Newt had anything to bring, and frowned when he saw nothing. "Newt, aren't we going to bring anything?" Thomas said, following him.

Newt climbed onto his horse as he grinned, so Thomas did the same. "Oh, it's fine. I already put everything else out just a while ago."

"Oh," Thomas said, pleasantly surprised.

As they neared the gates, one of the knights guarding it asked where they were going, but Newt put on a charming smile.

"We were just going hunting, kind sir." Newt said. The knight frowned under his helmet.

"...You don't seem to have any weapons on you, my lord." The knights said.

Newt was silent for a moment, looking completely melancholy. He smiled again. "Did you not see me go past with a few things, sir?" Newt said finally. He sounded slightly passive aggressive. "Now, if you don't mind, could you let us through? Oh, and don't mention this to anyone, okay?" 

The knight looked as if he wanted to input something else, but stood back, and held his arm out for them. "As you wish, Sire."

Newt looked over at Thomas who lifted an eyebrow up at him as Newt grinned.


	5. Chapter four.

Thomas swore he couldn't breathe for a moment. When Newt's horse finally stopped, they had reached an opening in the herd of tall trees. It was mostly quiet aside from the small noise of water trickling, coming from the small stream running through.

The rising sun peeked through the branches of the trees, beating down in lines and shimmering off the grass. A few feet away from him was a small rug spread out, held down from the light breeze by a few pillows and a basket.

"It's wonderful, Newt." Thomas breathed, hopping off of his horse. He let Newt take them and tie them up. "How did you find this?" He had been here for no longer than a day and he was already taking Thomas to places he himself had never seen before.

"A word with a few knights goes a long way, Tommy." Newt shrugged, smirking as if it was nothing.

Despite all of this, Thomas wasn't fooled. "Why _did_ you bring me here?" He narrowed his eyes at him. "If this is about Brenda, I promise, if I had a choice, I would-"

"-No! No. That isn't it." Newt sat down on the rug, patting the space beside him for Thomas to follow. "That would be wrong of me."

Thomas scoffed. " _This whole thing is wrong_! Boys aren't meant to go on picnic's together! They're supposed to..." Thomas trailed off in thought. "Hunt! And... spar with swords... or something."

Newt chuckled. "What's life without a little wrongdoing?" He said. Thomas stayed silent as Newt leaned over and pulled out a small bag from the basket, which turned out to be filled with strawberries.

Thomas's eyes lit up at the sight of the red fruits. The blond took notice, and held it open for him to take one. Thomas did gladly, tearing off the stem and popping it into his mouth. Newt smiled and took a small bite out of one.

"I take it you like strawberries then?" Newt teased. Thomas didn't seem to notice his tone as he nodded vigorously.

Another strawberry was snatched by Thomas. "Oh yeah. I haven't had them for so long." Said strawberry was quickly devoured, but the brunette's hand was slapped away when he reached for a third.

"You shouldn't eat so quickly. You'll get hiccups." Newt warned lightly.

"So?" Thomas stole another sneakily and stuck it between his teeth, ripping the leaves off. "They're good," he added when Newt raised an unamused eyebrow at him.

They chatted for a while, Newt mostly watching the sun rise while Thomas snacked on a few more of the strawberries and some of the other things Newt brought.

Thomas had soon moved to laying on his side, facing the blond while the latter was on his stomach, eyes wandering across the sky.

Newt wasn't sure if Thomas was actually staring at him or it was just his mind playing tricks on him.

"Just out of curiosity, do you happen to have a girlfriend?" Thomas said as he picked the petals off of a small flower he plucked from the grass.

"No." Newt replied nonchalantly. Thomas jumped up, leaning forward on his hands.

"Really? Are you... Are you like me?" Thomas said excitedly, his eyes shining almost comically in the sun.

Newt just shrugged. "I don't know. I guess it's just that I haven't found the one yet, y'know?" The other boy's mood seemed to dampen a little. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I wouldn't mind marrying a girl, but I don't want to marry someone I don't love."

"Oh." Thomas sounded disappointed, but he quickly covered it up with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "I understand what you mean. Well, at least you aren't being forced to marry some girl."

"Hey! That 'some girl' is my sister," Newt said, trying to bring their normal chatter back. He didn't look like he noticed Thomas' odd behaviour.

They talked for a few more minutes, but Thomas felt a lump of dread beginning to fill his stomach. _Maybe he wasn't normal. Maybe he was sick or something, that was why he didn't like girls._ The strawberries suddenly started to taste sour in his mouth and the grass poking through the blanket jagged his skin like knives.  
  
"Hey, um, we should get going." Thomas mumbled, standing up. He didn't feel like eating strawberries and staring at pretty boys. He wanted to lie in his bed and cry and be miserable.

"What? Why? We haven't even been out that long! I thought you were having a good time!" Newt protested, a heavy frown on his face.

"I know, I'm sorry. I..." He paused, thinking of an excuse, until he came up with: "I just don't feel well."

Newt cocked his head and he looked like he was trying to dig the truth out of Thomas with just his eyes, but it didn't seem to be working as Thomas stood his ground. Thomas was good at a lot of things, but lying wasn't one of them.

Newt sighed and got up. "It's fine. You go and get the horses and I'll pack this up. I'll send someone to bring this all back." Newt's kind tone sounded hurt and forced.

"But I thought you said no one had to know-"

Newt suddenly snapped, looking up at Thomas with cold eyes making him flinch. "I _said_ , you should go and get the horses."

"Oh, o-okay." Thomas stood still for a few seconds. "Sorry," he said, quickly turning and retreating to the horses where he had to take a few deep breaths so he wouldn't burst into tears.

The ride back to the castle was silent. Newt was scowling through it all and Thomas kept glanced at him.

"What? Why do you keep looking at me like that?" Newt finally sneered as the horses trotted through the castle gates.

"Why did you snap at me? What did I do?"

Newt looked back at him as if he was being ridiculous. "A word of advice, Thomas, you aren't a good liar. Maybe next time you should just tell me to my face that you don't like me, and preferably before I took you out for breakfast. It probably would've hurt less."

Thomas gaped, confused, as Newt hopped off his horse and put it into one of the cages. "What do you mean?" The brunette was still on his horse when Newt walked out.

"I shouldn't have taken you on that picnic. You were right. It was wrong," his posture changed. His back straightened, his chin lifted up and his shoulders rolled back, looking more confident that ever. "By the way, if you want to be normal, try getting with a girl." He called before he began to walk away.

Thomas watched Newt's every step as he walked back to the castle, tears gathering quickly in his eyes. He only moved when his horse began to huff.

He ended up breaking down in the corner of the stable as the horses gave him weird looks for his loud sobbing.


	6. Chapter five.

Thomas wisely spent the next day moping in his bed, with Teresa popping in every so often and either gently placing small trays of fruit onto his bed or telling him to get up and that he was being too miserable over a boy he had just met, but he weakly protesting with things such as: " _Teresa, he was so charming! And then he just kind of slapped me in the face. With words."_ as Thomas put it.

She let him mourn his love life before she decided a walk would be good for him and she pulled him out of his bed. (Literally. _Why does everyone like to yank me out of bed?_ Thomas thought grumpily as he tugged his trousers on, carefully avoiding his sore hip.)

The girl pulled him through the forest, and his heart lifted when they stepped out of the trees and into the small field of flowers. They lay in the grass for hours and only returned when the sun was beginning to fall into the hills.

On the fourth day, Thomas sat in the same room as Brenda, alone, for the first time. To put it into words, it was probably the most awkward 15 minutes of silence in his life until they actually started talking.

-ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ-

The air was tight and suffocating, and Thomas didn't dare lay his eyes on the girl beside him, instead taking in the _very_ interesting blank walls of the room. He also traced the light figure above his head with his eyes, and if Thomas was lucky it would come loose and crush him.

"Thomas." Brenda _finally_ spoke. Thomas was beginning to think he was going to have to speak first, and he wasn't good at making small talk.

"Uh, yeah?"

"You do realise that I don't want to marry you either, right?" _Wow, okay, blunt._ Thomas just awkwardly shook his head. "Well, now you do."

"Uh, okay. Can't we just tell them that? Then we won't-" Then Brenda interrupted him, and Thomas was taken back because weren't they taught it was impeccably rude?

"-We'll have to get married whether we like it or not. Trust me, I tried getting out of it but Father wouldn't budge." Brenda said, leaning back and crossing her arms. Thomas thought that she had the beauty of a princess but she sat like a man too confident and cocky for his own good, but somehow she pulled it off.

"Oh. Okay." Thomas mumbled. He didn't really know how to add to that.

She quickly uncrossed her arms and leaned forward a little, a small smirk slithering onto her lips. "So. You and my brother, huh?"

Thomas frowned and his cheeks heated up at the same time. Her smirk faltered.

"What? What did he do? Were you allergic to the strawberries?"

His frown deepened. "How do you know we had strawberries?" Brenda stayed silent and she looked slightly guilty, as if she had just told a secret she wasn't supposed to. Then Thomas realised that she had. "You helped him organise it."

She opened her mouth to protest, but instead gave in and nodded. "What did he do?" She continued to peer. "Did _you_ do something? I swear, Thomas, I did _not_ get up while it was still dark to prep everything just so you could hurt his feelings."

"I didn't do anything!" Thomas cried.

"Oh. What did _he_ do then?"

"I... I don't know. I just... Okay, look, I told him I didn't feel good and I wanted to go back and then he snapped at me and then he didn't talk to me when we rode back together and- and- and then when he got back he told me I was a bad liar an' if I wanted to be normal I should go out with a girl and then he stormed off," he said in one breath.

Brenda looked puzzled, and she was quiet for a moment trying to piece it together in her mind. "That didn't make any sense. _Were_ you lying? What did he mean by normal?"

"I can't tell you."

"Why?" Brenda leaned forward more.

"Um, because it's personal."

"But you told Newt. We met you at the same time. Or is there something special about Newt?" Her smirk was returning.

"Um, no! W-what makes you think that?"

Thomas began to shift as Brenda peered at him. It felt like her eyes went straight through him and into his brain, poking at every secret he ever had. 

"Well, if there's nothing different about Newt then I don't see why you can't tell me if you told him." Brenda took his gaze, both of their eyes strong, but Thomas's shoulders slumped after a minute and he caved.

"Fine. But you can't tell anyone." Brenda nodded. "Um, well, I like boys. I think. But I _like_ like boys. I mean I like boys like I'm supposed to like girls. But I-"

"What, that's it? That's what he meant by 'normal'." There she goes, interrupting him once again. Thomas thought about calling her out on it but she didn't seem like the type to care and so he just nodded. "Okay, great. We're getting somewhere. Good job. Now, were you lying to him about being sick?"

Thomas's shoulders were tense until he just nodded. He had already told her some parts of it, so why not just tell her all of it?

"Why? Or, actually, why did you want to go back?"

"Well, um, Newt-" His name felt like poison in his mouth, "-isn't the only one telling me I'm not normal." Brenda raised an eyebrow, the action practically saying 'elaborate' in itself. "Well, I've got my stupid brain telling me that all the time, and I think going out for a picnic with a boy was just too much and I got overwhelmed and I needed to go home so I made a dumb excuse and he didn't believe me and now he hates me-" and _again! What the hell, Brenda?_

"Sh." Brenda hushed him, and when she leaned forward he thought she was going to peer for more information so he was slightly shocked when she pulled him into a ginger hug. "It's just a misunderstanding, okay? You don't need to get so worked up over it. And for what he said? He didn't mean it. He really likes you."

Thomas pulled his head up from her shoulder to frown at her. "What do you mean?"

She smiled. "Thomas, you aren't alone. There are other people like you."

"Really?" Thomas asked excitedly. "Who?"

"Um, well, take me for example." She winked at him. Thomas's mouth dropped. And then snapped shut.

"Wait, what? But you're _supposed_ to like boys. I don't see the problem." Brenda laughed and hugged him tighter.

"No, idiot. I meant that I _don't_ like boys and instead I like girls. But I think that Newt's just kind of in the middle, I guess."

"So he likes both." Thomas said. He felt Brenda nod.

It was in that moment when Thomas's father decided it would be a nice time to barge inside the room.

"No! I will not- Oh." His Father froze in the open door frame which he had just dramatically flung open, his servant sheepishly trailing behind him. He smiled. Thomas's stomach dropped and he pushed away from her. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'll just leave you two _lovebirds_ alone." He laughed before he spun and Thomas flinched at the doors slamming behind him.

Thomas felt sick. "I'm sorry, Brenda. It was lovely talking to you, but if you don't mind I'll just be, um, going to my room." Thomas gave her a wry smile and walked in direction of the door when she grabbed his wrist.

"Thomas, I'll uh, I'll talk to Newt, okay? I'll help you sort this out." Thomas smiled a little more genuinely and when he walked out he didn't feel so terrible.


	7. Chapter six.

By 'talk to Newt', Brenda meant storming to where Newt was staying and yelling into his face, shaking his shoulders until his brain rattled, ranting for a while and then just walking right out.

Newt had to sit on of his bed for about an hour just to come off of the aftershock because _what the fuck was that?_

\--

_"Agh! Oh my god, Newt! Sometimes you can be really dumb!" Brenda cried._

_"Uh, excuse me? What are you talking about?" Newt stammered._

_"Jesus, what do_ you _think?" She exclaimed in an accusatory tone._

_'Wh- I don't- What? Do you mean Thomas?"_

_Brenda practically sobbed in relief. "Yes! Finally! Oh, don't look at me like that, Newt."_

_Newt huffed and tucked in his pouted bottom lip reluctantly._

_"Okay! So, instead of sulking we're gonna fix this! Sound good?"_

\--

That's why Newt is currently standing in front of Thomas's closed door, a bundle of freshly picked flowers gathered in his hands and his heart thumping nervously in his chest. Or his mouth. He felt like he was going to throw up his heart.

His feet felt like they were rooted to the ground as he stood for a few minutes, hyping himself up.

_Hey, it's fine if you mess up, it's not like he's probably gonna marry your sister and dinner every. single. night. will be suffocating, right? Nothing to worry about! You've got this, I guess._

Newt wouldn't exactly call that 'hyping himself up', but it seemed to work fine because he was finally lifting his hand up to knock and then-

 _Of course_.

-And then it swung open and Thomas walked straight into him, causing Newt to stumble backwards and out of instinct Newt's hand grasped onto the fabric of Thomas's shirt as an attempt to stabilise himself but that quite literally went to shit so Thomas tumbled along down with him.

The flowers he held fell out of his hand and splattered across the ground as he flung out his palm to catch his back from hitting the floor while the other gripped Thomas's shirt tighter, alas pushing their chests together as they fell.

An ungodly winded sound escaped Newt as his back crashed to the floor and Thomas's weight practically plummeted on him and he tried to suck in a breath.

"What the fu-"

"Ge' off, 'can't breathe," Newt whimpered. He could feel his face and neck turning red and he wasn't sure if it was because of the lack of oxygen or the fact that Thomas was _on top of him._

"Oh. _Oh! Oh my_ _gosh_ , I'm so sorry!" Thomas scrambled off of him and held his hand feverishly out to Newt who was still sprawled out across the floor.

Newt grunted a little as Thomas pulled him up and he looked down to his feet where the once tidy assortment of flowers was now painting the floor in white and purple petals.

Dread quickly filled his stomach as he gazed back up at Thomas. He also then realised he hadn't said anything and the already awkward atmosphere was becoming unbearable. "Um, _fuuck_ , I just wanted to say-"

"-I'm sorry!" Thomas suddenly cried, crashing forward again but instead pulling Newt into a bone crushing hug. Newt's eyes widened and he stood like a log as Thomas clung to him.

"Uh... What?" Newt whispered, subconsciously trying to figure out where to place his hands because putting them on his hips would be too suggestive and putting them on his higher back would just be plain awkward, so he settled with making it ten times worse by not putting them onto him at all, instead letting them hover above the middle of his back area.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have lied to you, I really had a wonderful time and you were so kind to me but I ruined the whole day and I'm _sorry!_ " Thomas rambled, voice muffled by Newt's shoulder.

Newt's eyebrows furrowed and he grabbed onto Thomas's shoulders and pulled them apart. "Why are you apologising? It's not your fault. I was, um, I was actually coming to apologise myself. I overreacted and I shouted at you when I shouldn't have. I should have realised that going out together would have been overwhelming for you. But I brought flowers!"

He grinned, let go of Thomas and crouched down, scooping the flowers up into his hand and clutching them by the stems. He stood back up and held them up to Thomas but his smile slowly subsided as a few flopped down sadly and others looked crushed from when he had fallen.

"Well, I _brought_ flowers, but I doubt you'd want these ones. It's fine, I'll be back in a minute, I'll go get some new ones, okay?"

"No! No, it's fine. I like them. Thanks, Newt." Thomas gently took the flowers from Newt's hand, and the blond didn't miss how his skin tingled when their hands brushed.

"Um, yeah, so I was kinda thinking that we could do a redo and go out again. But we can do something different if you want! I don't mind. I really just don't want to miss a chance just because of some dumb misunderstanding, I suppose."

Thomas's smile was almost blinding. "Of course! That sounds great! How about we go out tomorrow? Since you showed me a cool place, I'll show you one in return! I guarantee you'll like it!"

Newt was pretty sure he was hearing things. "Shit, yeah, okay. Uh, great! Sure! When shall I meet you?" He was pretty sure he sounded like an idiot but couldn't bring himself to care because _Thomas just agreed to go back out with him._

"After lunch. And don't be late!" Thomas winked playfully before he slid past Newt and scurried down the hallway, presumably to find Teresa or to throw away those god awful flowers.

Newt continued to stare down Thomas's closed door, this time with his cheeks warm and a giddy feeling in his chest.

-ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ-

_Someone should keep count of how many times Newt says 'uh' and 'um' bc I'm pretty sure he's spoken more filler words than actual sentences bye_


End file.
